Water in boot

[clarkmagpie]

S2 Elise.

Can't say I've noticed it before but...

Took it to local garage to get the locking wheel nuts removed, left it over night and went to pick it up in the morning.
Tried starting it and - flat battery.

Opened the boot to find a puddle of water
Jump started and went for a decent run, about 2 hours worth.
Have been away for a couple of days and have gone to start the car - flat battery again.

So 2 questions really.

1. How is there so much water in the damn boot?
2. Would this water effect the battery in some way or is it just coincidence?

cheers.

[edp190]

Do s2s boots have a drain like s1s? If so it's probably that. HTH cheers ed

Edited by edp190 on Tuesday 4th December 19:55

[400SE Dave]

Check the seal around the boot area, especially where it joins. May just need reseating and a bit of sealant around the join.

If the battery has died after 2 days it sounds like it could be a dead cell. If so, new battery.

Edit: On the Exige there is a drain hole on the engine side of the seal. Not sure if it is the same on an Elise but if there is one make sure it is clear.

[c4rlh]

Hi,

(1) Check all drain holes are clear around the seal of the boot.

(2) Check that the seal around the lid of the boot itself is not damaged (it is quite sturdy and raised so I would be surprised if this was the case).

(3) If they look ok then check the silicone is intact boot side of the boot catch. Water can pool there and if you pull back the carpeting in the boot you can see that due to joining of two pieces of bodywork that if the silicone fails then water will find a way in every time it rains. An application of silicone will resolve the issue top side. If you don't know where I mean from the description then let me know and I will take a picture.

Regards,
Carl

[willld]

Water gets in through the mounting holes where the 'black' plastic grilles are attached. Take the screws out, add a bit of clear silicone sealant, put screws back in and hopefully job sorted. Well it did on mine anyway.

[R-Racer]

I have a lake in my boot after some rain! Dropped her off today at my local dealer to sort out,fingers crossed. The boot-seal looks fine so we think its seeping in around the fixing bolts that hold my rear spoiler on. Its all in the fun of owning a Lotus!!

[bebee]

If they are parked on a hill or even half on the kerb, then too much water will overflow the clam drain shutter rails, even if they do have drain holes.
The battery may be on it's way out anyway, they can't cope with retaining charge the colder they get.

[wantalotus]

always park arse up (facing down hill/slight slope) only solution. any other orientation leads to wet boot......

[clarkmagpie]

Thanks for the help
It's going to garage Monday just to get seals, drain holes checked and a new battery.

Will make a conscious effort to park the right way up now as well!

[bencollins]

does anyone know what this dimension is:

I have to rebuild a new boot on tuesday, though a "temporary" fix is to put a plate with heat shield underneath it across this gap, likewise at the wall to the engine.
in theory is temporary but will probably end up lasting until the rear clam is ever removed.

Its a replacement clam with either no boot box or a clam that previously had a boot bag, now long gone.

Another question, when i search threads on Seloc i find something suitable, but they all seem to have gone to sleep or I cant post somehow to revive them.
Do threads get closed there?

[Thorburn]

bencollins said:

Another question, when i search threads on Seloc i find something suitable, but they all seem to have gone to sleep or I cant post somehow to revive them.
Do threads get closed there?

Once threads have been inactive for a certain amount of time they get moved to the archive and are closed - think the time varies depending on the sub-forum.

Best bet is normally to just start up a new thread, can always link back to the original.

[bencollins]

Thanks thorburn for you prompt reply as always, much obliged!
Unless someone has a better idea this from BNQ looks like suitable for above the exhaust, trim to width with tin snips.
http://www.diy.com/nav/build/building-materials/ma...

[simpo555]

As has already been said, beware of slopes. Mine was parked at night on my driveway and if by chance I didn't respect the gradiant, had a wet boot in the morning. Whats annoying, with so many people mentioning this as a fault, is why in earths name didn't this get 'designed out'. Surely just needed a drain hole at the rear of the boot surround or is that just too simple?